Hui-neng

Hui-neng or Wei-lang (Jap., E'nō; 638–713). Sixth patriarch of Ch'an/Zen in China, and dharma-successor (hassu) of Hung-jen. With his name is associated both a new orientation of Ch'an/Zen, and the only Chinese work to be accorded the status of a sūtra, the Platform Sūtra (see LIU-TSU-TA-SHIH FA-PAO-T'AN-CH'ING). But much is legendary, and the autobiographical part of the Platform Sūtra (2–11) summarizes the traditions as they had accumulated in the 8th cent. After the schism between the Northern and the Southern schools, with the N. emphasizing gradual progress, especially through attention to scriptures (zengyō), and the S. emphasizing sudden enlightenment (tongyō), Hui-neng is represented in art tearing up the Sūtras.

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